“When he gave us the faerie cakes before we left his keep.” She sounded completely undisturbed by it.
Darcy rounded on Eversleigh. “What is this bond?”
“Nothing to worry about. It creates a certain amount of shared loyalty and trust, but it is not a strong bond. It is a good sign that he offered it to you. It means he will not betray you.”
He had taken on a bond without knowing it? It was a sickening sensation. “What else creates bonds?” He did not want to make that mistake again.
“Food is the weakest bond. Sharing a cup is somewhat stronger,” said Eversleigh. “Mingling your blood in a spell will augment your magic and form a strong loyalty tie. Beyond that is only claiming blood right, and you need not worry about that.”
Sharing a cup. The dryad had given them wine from the same cup. “What if two mortals in Faerie share a cup?”
Eversleigh looked thoughtful. “I do not know if it would work for two mortals.”
“It does.” Elizabeth sounded certain.
“Does it? Interesting,” said Eversleigh. “I wonder if food binding would work between mortals in Faerie. That is hardly relevant to tonight, though, and it is time for us to go and leave you to your meeting.”
Frederica gave Elizabeth a quick hug. “Good luck.”
After the others left, Darcy sat with Elizabeth by the whitethorn, Pepper in his lap, remembering how the dryad had offered the cup first to Elizabeth and then to him. When the dryad had returned the cup to Elizabeth, she had hesitated before taking it, then drank from it and offered it directly to him. She must have understood what she was doing, and she did it anyway. Why? And what did the bond mean? They had not quarreled since then, and he had been more aware of what she might be feeling. He had thought it was only from knowing her better. Before that day, it had seemed impossible that he and Elizabeth could work together in harmony as they were now. Something had definitely changed, and Elizabeth had been willing to make that change.
The sun neared the horizon. Darcy drummed his fingers on the table, but Elizabeth seemed quite at ease. Was she truly relaxed, or was she merely pretending?
“I wonder how the fay celebrate Beltane,” Elizabeth said idly. “The stories speak of dancing and music, but there must be more. Do you suppose they have maypoles?”
They had spent so much time planning for this meeting, and now he could think of nothing but why Elizabeth had accepted the bond with him. If only he could ask her! But instead he had to make appropriate conversation. “I cannot say. When all this is over – and no, I do not know what I mean by that – I hope to journey to Oxford and search through the Collegium library for references to the fay. It will be interesting to see how much truth there is in the old books.”
“I have just been contemplating all the possible definitions of sunset. Is it when the sun first touches the horizon or when it disappears completely? Perhaps it is somewhere in between.”
“An interesting philosophical –”
Out of nowhere the Sidhe lord appeared in front of them, accompanied by a Sidhe lady dressed in diaphanous silks that fluttered around her legs. Instinctively Darcy averted his eyes as he rose to bow. Like the lord, she wore wrist cuffs of silver filigree.
“I am pleased to see you followed my instructions.” The Sidhe’s voice chimed like a bell. “If you are carrying a firearm, be aware that it will not function in my presence.”
As if a pistol could somehow protect him against the Sidhe! “I am unarmed.” Darcy stepped away from his chair. “Honored lady.” Since there were only three chairs, he would stand. A bit awkward but –
The lady waved her hand and a fourth chair appeared, a match to the other three. She gracefully sat in it. “You honor us with your preparations.”
To think Darcy had once been proud of his prowess as one of the most powerful mages in England! Compared to the Sidhe, he was no more than a child playing with toys.
Elizabeth said, “We are honored by your presence. We hope you may enjoy these small tokens of our appreciation. May I offer you aplate?”
The two Sidhe did not hesitate to heap their plates high. Their manners were elegant as they ate steadily, making no conversation. Darcy and Elizabeth preserved the silence as they nibbled at their cake for the sake of politeness. Darcy refilled the milk glasses twice and wondered if he should have asked for a second pitcher.
Finally the Sidhe finished their food.
“Will you be able to stop the destruction of the groves?” The Sidhe lord wasted no further time on niceties.
“By ourselves, no,” said Darcy. “I have spoken to the Master of the Collegium of Mages, our most important mage, and he also wishes to stop the destruction. Unfortunately, according to a government minister, it could be detrimental to our cause if we instruct people to leave the groves alone.”
The Sidhe scowled. “They will not listen to you?”
“Honored lord,” said Elizabeth. “First, permit me to say that Mr. Darcy and I do not agree with the position I am about to explain. Because of the recent attacks on humans, the government fears people will see the faerie rings as a danger rather than something to protect, and some might believe they can prevent the attacks by destroying all the rings.”
Darcy braced himself for a thunderous explosion, but instead the Sidhe lord exchanged a perplexed glance with the lady.
The lady tittered. “How remarkably foolish of them.”
